The author of Heroes in the Sky, Engelbert Grech, says that “many don’t realise what an important part our island (Malta) played in defeating Hitler” (TMID, 5 November).

I have always been of this idea, and held that the official strategists were totally mistaken about the aim of General Erwin Rommel’s advance in North Africa. The official strategists always claim that Rommel’s aim was the oil of South-West Asia. But Rommel’s and Hitler’s aim was the attack on Russia.

The Germans always preferred to form their attack by a Pincer Movement. And Hitler planned to attack Russia in a Pincer attack. The northern pincer would go through Poland as in fact it did. The other pincer would go from Libya through Egypt and Palestine, through Syria and Turkey, through Georgia into central Russia.

Certainly this was a big bite, but Hitler was a megalomaniac, and he wanted Russia at all costs. But Malta destroyed the supply line to the southern German pincer led by Rommel.

Rommel did not even have enough fuel to recall all his troops from El Alamein as a rearguard most of which were taken prisoner and sent to India.

So Malta destroyed his plan of the southern pincer on Russia which was the main objective of Hitler’s War.

It is no wonder that President Roosevelt declared that “Malta saved two years of the war”. This was a diplomatic way of saying outright that Malta “saved the war”.

Joseph S. Ellul

Zurrieq